Christian Dreyer from the Fraunhofer IAP receives professorship
at TH Wildau

Press release /

On September 1, Dr. Christian Dreyer assumed the professorship for Fiber Composite Material Technologies in the department of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau. Dreyer is also the acting director of the research division Polymer Materials and Composites (PYCO) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP at its Teltow and Wildau sites. The professorship focuses on the efficient production of light-weight building materials, e.g. for applications in the aerospace industry, the automotive industry and for wind turbines.

© Fraunhofer IAP, photo: studioline Wildau
Prof. Dr. Christian Dreyer

“I hope to inspire students to study and develop new materials by exposing them to a real research environment. They are able to participate in research projects in cooperation with universities and research institutes from around the world. We are also paving the way for students to join the Fraunhofer IAP in the future”, explains Dreyer.

Since 2012, students at the PYCO Technology Center in Wildau have been learning how to develop fiber composite materials and reactive resins for lightweight construction applications – from formulating components, to processing and completing them. This is done in an industry-oriented way within the framework of internships and dissertations. Thanks to Dreyer's professorship, students will be able to experience more in-depth how applied research works at – and in partnership with – German and international industrial companies. This will also benefit small and medium-sized companies in the region.

Fraunhofer Cooperation Program with Universities of Applied Sciences

The appointment of Christian Dreyer strengthens the cooperation between the Fraunhofer IAP and TH Wildau. The joint research group Thermosets in Lightweight Construction was initiated in 2015 with the help of start-up funding as part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Cooperation Program with Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS).

The Fraunhofer-UAS cooperation aims to increase the national and international visibility of the Fraunhofer IAP and TH Wildau. It also provides an opportunity for the joint use of research infrastructure. The Fraunhofer IAP is currently erecting a new laboratory and office building at the Wildau site that has state-of-the-art technology. The IAP’s PYCO research division will soon be concentrating its entire lightweight construction expertise here. The modular impregnation plant, which can be universally used for coating, impregnation and prepreg production, will be at the heart of the facility. As part of the new building, the plant will also offer the possibility of curing materials using alternative technologies such as microwaves, UV LEDs and infrared radiation. The building will be completed at the beginning of 2020 and is within walking distance of TH Wildau.

Professor Dr. Christian Dreyer

Born in Idar-Oberstein Germany, Dreyer studied chemistry in Kaiserslautern and was a graduate and doctoral student at the PYCO research division in Teltow. He received his doctorate in 2002 from the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus (BTU). He subsequently conducted research in the field of optical polymers at Clemson University in the USA. Until 2006 he worked as a Fraunhofer research assistant and at the Chair of Polymer Materials at BTU Cottbus on its Teltow campus. From 2006 to 2011, he was a lab supervisor for the Central Research and Development department at LEONI AG in Nuremberg. Christian Dreyer returned to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Teltow in 2011 and has been the acting head of the PYCO research division at the Fraunhofer IAP since 2016. His work focuses on fiber composites, alternative curing methods, recyclable thermosets and optical thermosets.

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